Life insurance and pregnancy

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Life insurance and pregnancy: do I need it?

Raising children is an expensive affair, with the costs of maintaining a larger household, education costs and the like. Life insurance helps to take away some of the stress involved around these costs, making sure that your family are protected financially in case the unthinkable happens. 

If you already have a life insurance policy before you become pregnant, you may want to change the terms, such as increasing the pay-out to give your children financial security. 

How is life insurance affected by pregnancy?

It is best to seek out life insurance at the earliest stage of pregnancy. This is because of the complications that can often be associated with the latter months of pregnancy, meaning that some insurance providers will make you wait until you have successfully given birth before covering you. 

So, if you want to have a variety of options so that you can choose the right life insurance for your family, it is a good idea to compare quotes as soon as possible.

If you already have life insurance, your policy will not be affected by becoming pregnant, but you should consider contacting your insurance provider and changing any terms to increase payouts to a now larger family. This will increase your premiums, but will help to give you and your children peace of mind.

How do I apply for life insurance when pregnant?

The process of applying for life insurance when you are pregnant is no different to any other time. 

Get in contact with an insurance provider and they will ask you a series of questions to calculate the risk that would be associated with covering you. These will include the usual questions involving age, medical history, lifestyle and more.

There will be some pregnancy specific questions, particularly if you are applying after giving birth. These can include questions regarding postnatal depression. However, in most cases these will not affect the premiums that you will have to pay, as conditions like postnatal depression are generally considered low risk to insurers.

What information do I provide regarding my weight?

As part of the questionnaire, you will be asked about your weight. Obviously, when you become pregnant you will put on weight. Insurance providers are aware that this does not reflect your usual weight, so it is best to give them your weight immediately before pregnancy. Some insurers however may ask for your weight during a specified period.

Similarly, when answering questions about your lifestyle, for example whether you smoke or your alcohol intake, insurers will want to know the details before you became pregnant, as most people quit smoking or cut down on drinking when pregnant. Companies usually specify a period of 12 months pre-pregnancy that they want you to provide information on.

If you were a smoker before you became pregnant, see how this may affect your premiums with our guide on life insurance for smokers.

Providing accurate information

It is critical that you answer any questions that you are asked as honestly, comprehensively and as accurately as possible. 

Although it may seem like a good idea to potentially leave out specific bits of information or mislead providers to try and get cheaper premiums when searching for life insurance quotes, this can come back and bite you in the future, which can lead to negative consequences for you and your family.

If someone is found to have provided any false information to an insurance provider in the case of death, it is possible that they will nullify any claims that are made. 

For example, if you say that you were a non-smoker but you are found to have regularly smoked, this could mean that your family do not receive any payouts from the insurers, meaning wasted money on premiums as well as potentially being financially devastating for your loved ones.